I recently convinced myself that August is National Tomato Month. Possibly because I have spent the last several weeks gorging on the beautiful New England tomatoes making their way to the Boston farmers’ markets and local farm stands.

Imagine my dismay when I discovered that August celebrates many foodstuffs, including sandwiches, catfish, […]

I recently convinced myself that August is National Tomato Month. Possibly because I have spent the last several weeks gorging on the beautiful New England tomatoes making their way to the Boston farmers’ markets and local farm stands.

Now, if you dragged yourself through many, many miserably damp days in March and April of 2014, you know for a fact that there was not a local, sun-ripened, fresh tomato to be found in Boston on April 6th. And I’m not the only person who thinks August is the time to celebrate the glorious tomato. Consider the world-famous, tomato-centric celebration known as La Tomatina in Buñol, a small Spanish town in Valencia that attracts over 30,000 people every August.

This is the perfect time to enjoy beautiful ripe tomatoes of all varieties. They are also a superfood, rich in Vitamin C and fiber, as well as beta-carotene and lycopene. Read more about the health benefits of eating tomatoes in the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter.

If you’re looking for new ways to enjoy tomatoes, here are a few of my favorite recipes:

This month’s Under10 Spotlight is a double feature! A combination of an adventurous mood (not preparing lunch in the evening) and oversleeping on two days led me to two spots: Momogoose, a food truck, and its sister restaurant Saté. Both are located near South Station and offer the same menu. Momogoose is at the intersection […]

This month’s Under10 Spotlight is a double feature! A combination of an adventurous mood (not preparing lunch in the evening) and oversleeping on two days led me to two spots: Momogoose, a food truck, and its sister restaurant Saté. Both are located near South Station and offer the same menu. Momogoose is at the intersection of Congress St and the Greenway, and Saté is in the Nonprofit Center on South St (right next to Al’s).

I’ve wanted to get lunch from one of the Dewey Square food trucks for months, but they are always dauntingly busy. The lines to order wind around the plaza and the group of people waiting for their orders to be ready is massive. I’ve noticed, though, that if you travel just a block further to where Congress St intersects the Greenway, the food trucks there have much shorter lines. I decided to head to Momogoose for my first food truck post.

Beef ramen from Momogoose

Momogoose offers ramen, pho, banh mi, and create-your-own rice or noodle bowls, with a variety of protein choices. Each dish is $6 and for $8 you can get a main dish, a beverage, and dumpling or crispy roll. I ordered ramen with beef, a crispy roll, and a lemonade (which cost an extra dollar but was worth it). The ramen’s thin noodles were a bit too al dente for my taste and the beef was a little dry, but the broth was flavorful with wonderfully crisp vegetables. The portion was generous and I had some left over. The bowls and lids they use are sturdy and basically spill proof, so it was easy to bring back to work with me.

Tofu ramen from Saté

When I went to Saté the following week, I decided to try the ramen again, but opted for tofu and got a dumpling instead of a crispy roll on the side. The noodles were more to my liking and the tofu was a better fit with the rest of the ingredients. My friend got a rice bowl with Korean BBQ chicken, which she enjoyed thoroughly.

Korean BBQ Chicken with brown rice

I’m most impressed by the speed at both locations, as my meals were ready to take away by the time I finished paying. I don’t feel like this speed comes at the expense of quality. Neither location offers seating, as Momogoose is a truck and Saté is just a counter in a hallway, so they’d be good options if you need to grab something quickly to take back to the library.

For this month’s spotlight, I decided to broaden my horizons and go somewhere out of my normal lunch rotation. I chose Pita Kabob in Downtown Crossing, where I somehow have yet to eat, despite walking past it frequently for nearly a year. Conveniently located on the same block as the Chauncy Street exit of Downtown […]

For this month’s spotlight, I decided to broaden my horizons and go somewhere out of my normal lunch rotation. I chose Pita Kabob in Downtown Crossing, where I somehow have yet to eat, despite walking past it frequently for nearly a year. Conveniently located on the same block as the Chauncy Street exit of Downtown Crossing, it offers Persian food, as well as a handful of standard American deli options. It’s a great menu for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

The interior is spartan, but the staff is welcoming. You order and pay at the cashier first, so you’re good to go on your way once your order is ready. For my first foray into their menu, I decided to try the falafel pita wrap ($5.85). I’m no falafel connoisseur—in fact, I don’t actually like falafel all that much and always seem to forget that—but I really enjoyed it. It’s baked instead of fried, so wasn’t crispy like it often is, but still had a nice texture and flavor. The toppings were what made it excellent, though. The tahini and hot sauce were delicious and the lettuce and tomato, oft-neglected wrap elements, were impressively fresh.

I definitely want to go back to try some of their other offerings. They have nine different options for pita fillings, most of which can also be ordered on a salad, or served as a platter with Basmati rice and hummus or salad (shirazi, garden, or yogurt). The price for a pita wrap depends on the filling, and ranges from $5.25 for hummus to $8.55 for salmon kabob. Most of their other items fall within that range as well. They also serve breakfast and all their breakfast sandwiches are under $3.00—it’d be a convenient stop for Red Line riders on their way to campus in the morning.

I can’t offer much insight into their speed at busy times, as I was the only customer in line and enjoyed a leisurely conversation with the owner as he prepared my order, but their setup looks like one that could handle a high volume of customers with ease. There’s some counter seating inside, but it’d also be an easy walk over to the Common, Post Office Square, or the Greenway, where I decided to take mine.

Nota bene: Be sure to grab a bunch of napkins! Although the wrap was well-constructed, I couldn’t simultaneously eat and read without adorning my magazine with hot sauce and tahini. You may not want to eat it at your laptop.

Leo is back to answer more of your questions about library policies and procedures! Catch him in episode two where he discusses how to use Tufts Tools and announces our new computers! Remember to submit questions to AskLeo@tufts.edu or write out a question and place it in our designated box on the 4th floor library […]

Leo is back to answer more of your questions about library policies and procedures! Catch him in episode two where he discusses how to use Tufts Tools and announces our new computers! Remember to submit questions to AskLeo@tufts.edu or write out a question and place it in our designated box on the 4th floor library service desk. Enjoy!

Summer is here and everyone at HHSL is looking forward to the 4th of July. There are so many options for celebrating in Boston that it can be overwhelming, so we asked some staff members for their recommendations:

Summer is here and everyone at HHSL is looking forward to the 4th of July. There are so many options for celebrating in Boston that it can be overwhelming, so we asked some staff members for their recommendations:

I like to watch the fireworks just standing on Memorial Drive. They pipe the music from the Pops along the Cambridge side of the River, so you can enjoy the spectacle without having to camp out all day for a spot on the Esplanade.

-Katherine Morley, Administrative Coordinator

If you do decide to enjoy the Pops on the Esplanade, this handy guide has all the info you need.

Go check out the Old Ironsides turnaround cruise. You can book a ticket on a boat that follows her around the harbor or just watch from shore as the world’s oldest commissioned warship takes her annual voyage to Castle Island. This is the year to do it, though–she’ll be undergoing restoration until 2018.

I’m not a native New Englander, so I was really excited last year when I was invited to a community clam bake for the 4th of July. Even though it was deathly hot (near 100 degrees F), it was really fun to celebrate with the whole neighborhood out on the rocky beach, eating all of the food everyone made. It was also really interesting to watch the evolution of the fire pit throughout the day. I’m not a big seafood eater, so I didn’t partake of the steamers and lobster, but everything looked and smelled amazing!

It is finally summer and I am convinced the weather will get hot at some point. However, we all need to make sure that we, and our loved-ones, know the dangers of UV radiation and play it smart when we are enjoying being outside all summer and fall. You can use the following infographics to […]

It is finally summer and I am convinced the weather will get hot at some point. However, we all need to make sure that we, and our loved-ones, know the dangers of UV radiation and play it smart when we are enjoying being outside all summer and fall. You can use the following infographics to teach your friends and family to be safe in the sun!

Welcome to the first episode of Ask Leo. Leo (our friendly skeleton) will be answering questions that patrons have regarding library policies and procedures. Please feel free to contact him by sending an email to AskLeo@tufts.edu with the subject line Ask Leo or you may drop off a question in our designated box at […]

Welcome to the first episode of Ask Leo. Leo (our friendly skeleton) will be answering questions that patrons have regarding library policies and procedures. Please feel free to contact him by sending an email to AskLeo@tufts.edu with the subject line Ask Leo or you may drop off a question in our designated box at the 4th floor library service desk.

This month, our Under10 Spotlight is Chacarero, a popular lunch spot on the edge of the Financial District. The walk is a straight(ish) shot from campus down Harrison and Chauncy to 101 Arch Street—about 8 minutes, give or take.

Chacarero’s signature item is…the chacarero, a […]

This month, our Under10 Spotlight is Chacarero, a popular lunch spot on the edge of the Financial District. The walk is a straight(ish) shot from campus down Harrison and Chauncy to 101 Arch Street—about 8 minutes, give or take.

Chacarero’s signature item is…the chacarero, a classic Chilean sandwich. My favorite part is the bread, which is baked fresh daily. It’s round, sort of flat, and manages to both dense and light at the same time. For the main ingredient, you have a choice of plain or bbq grilled beef or chicken (or both), or grilled vegetables. It’s topped with tomatoes, muenster cheese, avocado spread, green beans, and their secret hot sauce. You can also add a super spicy hot sauce that I wasn’t brave enough to try, but hear is very good.

A small sandwich ($6.35-$8.95) is the perfect size for lunch, but they also make a large size ($7.45-$10.00). They offer assorted sides, desserts, and beverages, as well as a number of breakfast items.

The lunch rush is tackled with an impressive display of assembly-line sandwich making. The line was out the door when I arrived at 12:45pm, but it took only five minutes to get up to the cashier, where I ordered and paid. I was outside with my meal in less than four minutes after that. Other times when I’ve gone later in the afternoon, there’s been no wait, so I’d recommend going closer to 2pm if you’re short on time.

There’s a decent amount of seating in the air-conditioned restaurant but one of my favorite spots to eat in the area is not far away. If you have time, continue on Arch St and take a right down Franklin St for about two blocks to Post Office Square. You can enjoy your sandwich on the lawn in the park—be sure to grab a free cushion from one of the bins to protect your clothes from the grass!